Before the season started, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum called a players-only meeting with Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis.
Tatum wanted to talk about the Celtics’ starting lineup and closing group since the team had six really good players now after the Porzingis and Holiday acquisitions.
“I wanted us to get in the room and talk about it,” Tatum told Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “We all are human and have feelings, and I opened the floor and basically said, ‘There’s six of us. Only five can play at one time. One of us is not going to finish the game all the time.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics Updates
“Whether it’s fair or not, me and JB are probably going to always start, and always finish the game. But we have to be held to a different standard and be able to be coached differently. Whether it’s KP and Al, one of you guys may not finish a game, and you have to be OK with that.”
The Celtics have been starting White, Holiday, Tatum, Brown and Porzingis, with Horford making the sacrifice of going to the bench.
“I think, honestly, it was a very important moment for us,” Porzingis told ESPN. “Just to kind of look each other in the eye, and know that we’re here for one job, and to understand that we’re all going to be willing to make some sacrifices.
The Celtics are 11-3 on the season. They have the best record in the NBA and look like legitimate title contenders.
“It had a lot to do with Al,” Tatum said. “I got so, so much respect for him, and knowing that he might be the guy coming off the bench and I didn’t want it to just be a thing where we got new guys in, and it’s like, ‘All right, Al you’re coming off the bench.’
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics Updates
“I know how much he’s meant to this organization, how much he’s meant to me. And just to have that talk … basically we got six starters, and one of us has to come off the bench on any given night. I give Al a lot of credit.”
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